Employment Law Chronicle for Virginia & the District of Columbia

Click here for the Department of Labor's Model COBRA notices for compliance with the provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvesment Act (the stimulus bill).

As a courtesy to Virginia employment lawyers and employers, The Employment Law Chronicle provides summaries and links to key business and employment law statutes. While the Virginia Conspiracy Act does not protect employment interests, it is often invoked in Virginia business litigation on allegations that a former employee conspired with a subsequent employer or others to injure the former employer's business interests.

Specifically, the Virginia Conspiracy Act provides for civil actions based on a conspiracy by two or more persons to injure a person or entity's business interests (not employment interests). In addition to injunctive relief, a prevailing plaintiff may recover treble damages (three-times the amount of damages), plus attorneys' fees and costs.

Key provisions of the Virginia Business Conspiracy Act follow:

Continue reading " Virginia Employment Law: Virginia Business Conspiracy Act, VA Code §§ 18.2-499 - 18.2-500 " »

As an employment lawyer, several times a week, I am asked whether an employer can fire an employee without a good reason. In the District of Columbia and Virginia, the answer is usually yes. That is because employment in D.C. and Virginia is “at-will” unless a contract or statute states otherwise, or unless a public policy exception exists. Employment “at-will” means that the employer or employee may terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any lawful reason, or for no reason at all.

Courts in Virginia and the District of Columbia have carved out “narrow” exceptions to the at-will doctrine for claims of "wrongful termination" or "wrongful discharge" in violation of public policy. The highest courts of the respective jurisdictions have expressed the public policy exception to the at-will doctrine as follows:

Continue reading " Wrongful Termination and At-Will Employment in the District of Columbia and Virginia " »

In my ongoing effort to chronicle in one place (this blog) the major employment laws affecting employers in Virginia and the District of Columbia, here is an overview of the Reconstruction Era Civil Rights Acts as applied to modern-day employment discrimination lawsuits.

Continue reading " Employment Discrimination Law (Federal): Reconstruction Era Civil Rights Acts: 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1986. " »

Along with bringing you timely updates on employment law issues affecting Virginia and District of Columbia employers, you will notice that The Employment Law Chronicle is working on providing links where possible and summarizing in one place all of the major Federal, District of Columbia, and Virginia labor and employment laws.

The drop-down menu on the left under "Employment Laws" categorizes the statutes collected thus far by jurisdiction. The goal for completion of the initial phase with at least a blurb and link to or summary of each major statute as soon as possible. Stay tuned.

Reversing a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision, a divided 2-1 panel of the Fourth Circuit held that an employer's termination of a union employee for calling a supervisor a "stupid f***ing moron" did not violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The full text of the decision and pointed dissent can be found here.

Media General Operations, Inc., d/b/a The Tampa Tribune v. National Labor Relations Board, No. 08-1153 (March 13, 2009). Before KING and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges, and Rebecca Beach SMITH, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting by designation.

In November 2008, I summarized ASSLA, which is the District of Columbia’s new paid sick leave law. Since then, I have received several inquiries about workplace posting requirements. For the revised employer poster, please see the District of Columbia’s Minimum Wage Poster, which has been modified to include the ASSLA. The full text of the ASSLA is in Title 32 (Labor) of the D.C. Code.

Today, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that in Fiscal Year 2008, employees filed more than 95,000 charges of discrimination against private-sector employers, which is an unprecedented level of employment discrimination claims. According to the EEOC, age and retaliation charges saw the largest annual increase. In its press release, the EEOC cites "economic conditions" as a possible factor in the surge in discrimination claims. Unless economic conditions improve, employers should expect even more claims in 2009.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit's recent decision in Dotson v. Pfizer explains that Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") rights are triggered by an employee's request for leave covered by the FMLA, without regard to whether the employee mentions "FMLA" or uses any other term of art in the statute. Since the Fourth Circuit decides appeals from Virginia federal courts, the decision is particularly important for Virginia employers.

In this case, employee James Dotson (Dotson) was awarded more than $722,000 on his FMLA interference and retaliation claims, including $333,305 in statutory liquidated damages, $375,000 in attorneys' fees, and $14,265 in costs. Each party appealed different rulings of the trial court. On appeal, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the judgment, except as to the trial court's denial of pre-judgment interest. Holding that pre-judgment interest on FMLA damage awards is mandatory, the Fourth Circuit remanded the case, directing the trial court to recalculate Dotson's damage and fee awards to include pre-judgment interest.

The following arguments made by Pfizer and rejected by the Fourth Circuit provide clear guidance to employers that the burden is on employers -- not employees -- to understand and properly apply the FMLA:

Continue reading " Family and Medical Leave Act: "Magic Words" Not Required to Invoke FMLA Rights (Dotson v. Pfizer, March 4, 2009, 4th Circuit) " »

In an ongoing series aimed at answering frequently asked employment-law questions, here are the basics of "Employment Discrimination."

Continue reading " Employment Discrimination: FAQ's " »

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about employment Separation Agreements, Severance & Release Agreements:

Continue reading " Employment Separation, Severance, and Release Agreements: FAQ's " »